Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities - 2020-2021 Biennium Policy Recommendations 86th Legislative Session February 2019 for
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Texas Governor’s Committee on
People with Disabilities
2020-2021 Biennium
Policy Recommendations
for the
86th Legislative Session
February 2019[This page intentionally left blank]
Table of Contents
About the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities ..................... 7
Mission ..................................................................................................... 7
Key Services.............................................................................................. 7
Executive Summary ...................................................................................... 8
Summary Policy Recommendations for 2020-2021 Biennium ............................ 11
Description of the Committee’s Ten Policy Issue Areas .................................... 19
Goals, Purposes, Challenges and Policy Recommendations ............................... 24
Access ....................................................................................................... 25
Service Animal Issues and Proposed Solutions .......................................... 26
Accessible Voting .................................................................................. 28
Communications ......................................................................................... 29
Support Service Providers ...................................................................... 30
Implement Oversight for State EIR Accessibility Compliance ....................... 31
Expanding Recorded Book Library Services to Texans with Disabilities ......... 32
Restore Funding of Resource Specialist Program to Eliminate Communication
Barriers for Texans who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing ................................. 32
Education .................................................................................................. 34
Equal Access to Digital Learning Materials and Curriculum .......................... 36
Emergency Management ............................................................................. 36
Disability Coordinator FTE at TxDPS TDEM ................................................ 37
Helping Texans with Disabilities Prepare for Disasters ................................ 38
Responding to Behavioral Health Needs in Disasters .................................. 38
Next Generation 911 ............................................................................. 40
Health ....................................................................................................... 41
Establish Requirements for Certified Medical Interpreters ........................... 42
Early Detection of Hearing Loss ............................................................... 43
Increasing Funding for the Deaf Blind Multiply Disabled Medicaid Waiver
Interest List.......................................................................................... 44
Attracting and Retaining Personal Care Attendants Covered by State Medicaid
Waiver Programs................................................................................... 45
Eligibility Processes for the Medically Dependent Children Program .............. 46Funding Sustainability for Early Childhood Intervention Services ................. 49
Responsible Closure of the Austin State Supported Living Center ................ 50
Housing ..................................................................................................... 52
Affordable and Accessible Housing Best Practices ...................................... 52
Recreation ................................................................................................. 53
Inclusive Playgrounds ............................................................................ 54
Transportation ............................................................................................ 55
Accessible Parking ................................................................................. 55
Communication Impediment with Peace Officer Initiative ........................... 58
Veterans .................................................................................................... 59
Monitoring, Sharing, Publishing Veterans-Related Information .................... 60
Workforce .................................................................................................. 60
Supported Employment Follow Along Services for Individuals with Intellectual
and Developmental Disabilities ............................................................... 61
Policy Solutions for Building a Stronger, More Inclusive State Workforce ...... 63
ENDNOTES: ............................................................................................... 66Texas Governor’s Committee on People with
Disabilities
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
512-463-5739
512-434-0102 (VP)
www.gov.texas.gov/disabilities
Committee Members
Aaron W. Bangor, Ph.D., Chairman, Austin
Marco Treviño, Vice Chair, Edinburg
Ellen Bauman, Joshua
Evelyn Cano, Pharr
Andrew Cohen, Austin
Elizabeth M. Dickey, Austin
Archer S. Hadley, Austin
Richard Martinez, San Antonio
Linda Millstone, Austi n
Dylan Rafaty, Plano
Emma Faye Rudkin, Boerne
Amy Scott, Austin
Staff Members
Ron Lucey, Executive Director
Randi Turner, Accessibility and Disability Rights Coordinator
Nancy Van Loan, Executive Assistant
5[This page intentionally left blank]
About the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with
Disabilities
The Texas Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicap was
created by Governor Allan Shivers in September 1950. The committee was
continued by Governor Dolph Briscoe in 1978 through Executive Order DB-
40. Executive orders by Governor William P. Clements in 1981 (WPC-14A)
and 1987 (WPC 87-16) and Governor Mark White in 1983 (MW-10)
continued the committee, with Executive Order MW-10 changing the name
to Governor’s Committee for Disabled Persons. In 1991, the committee was
statutorily created and named the Texas Governor’s Committee on People
with Disabilities (GCPD). GCPD works toward a state where people with
disabilities have the opportunity to enjoy full and equal access to lives of
independence, productivity and self-determination. The Governor appoints
12 members to serve on GCPD, seven of whom must be people with
disabilities. Representatives from six state agencies serve as ex-officio or
advisory members.
GCPD makes recommendations to the Governor and the Texas Legislature on
disability issues; promotes compliance with disability-related laws; promotes
a network of local committees doing similar work; and recognizes employers
for hiring and retaining employees with disabilities and media professionals
and students for positively depicting Texans with disabilities. GCPD members
and staff also provide technical assistance, information and referral services
to citizens on issues affecting Texans with disabilities. Members of GCPD
work on issues related to access, communication, education, emergency
management, health, housing, recreation, transportation, veterans and
workforce. GCPD’s enabling law is outlined in the Human Resources Code,
Chapter 115.
Mission
GCPD’s mission is to further opportunities for persons with disabilities to
enjoy full and equal access to lives of independence, productivity and self-
determination.
Key Services
GCPD recommends changes in disability policies and programs in the areas of
accessibility, communication, education, emergency management, health,
housing, recreation, transportation, veterans and workforce. GCPD also
supports a network of committees on people with disabilities, issues awards
to promote greater awareness, and promotes compliance with disability-
related laws.
7Executive Summary
The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) submits
this report to the Governor and to the 86th Texas Legislature on
recommended changes in state laws relating to people with disabilities. This
report offers guidance to the Governor and legislators on issues and
challenges facing Texans with disabilities and GCPD’s recommendations to
best address these challenges.
Within this report GCPD provides information on goals, purposes, challenges
and recommendations for each targeted policy or program issue area. GCPD
believes that each recommendation should be actionable and promote access
and equity toward lives of independence and self-determination for Texans
with disabilities. To that end, GCPD offers recommendations that strive to
address issues in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, leverage
relevant partnerships to effectively take advantage of all available resources,
and implement strategies that maximize performance outcomes for people
with disabilities.
Policy input was gathered from public hearings at GCPD’s quarterly
meetings, listening sessions with disability stakeholder groups, and past staff
research directed by legislation requiring an interim study on accessible
parking. GCPD’s policy recommendations are organized into 10 primary issue
areas related to access, communications, education, emergency
management, health, housing, recreation, transportation, veterans, and
workforce. These policy recommendations, with the support of all committee
members, focus on vital issues important to Texans with disabilities,
including:
• providing affordable, appropriate and accessible housing;
• ensuring accessible, affordable, reliable and safe transportation;
• adjusting the physical and recreational environment for inclusiveness
and accessibility;
• increasing work, volunteer and education opportunities;
• ensuring access to key health and support services; and
• fostering participation in civic, cultural and social activities.
Based upon stakeholder input and the needs of Texans with disabilities,
some issue areas do not require any proposed changes to state law during
this biennium. GCPD’s most significant policy work is contained in the
communications and transportation issue areas and are provided through
two supplemental reports posted on GCPD’s website.
8GCPD’s past accessible parking study to the 85th Texas Legislature, A Review
of Accessible Parking for Persons with Disabilities in Texas, remains relevant,
offering examples of best practices for accessible parking enforcement and
education.
Another leading focus for GCPD has been improving access to effective
communications for Texans who are deaf or hard of hearing. Several policy
proposals were developed and researched at the request of members of deaf
advocacy organizations, including the Texas Association for the Deaf and the
Deaf Grass Roots Movement. GCPD’s issue areas include recommendations
to address unserved or underserved members of the deaf community,
including Texans who are deafblind and newborn children who failed a
newborn hearing screening and are at greater risk for a developmental delay
in language development.
GCPD’s recommendations were informed by the experience of Texans with
disabilities during Hurricane Harvey. These recommendations include
creating a disability coordinator position at the Texas Division of Emergency
Management, support for a proposal to implement next generation 911
services for advanced communication access technology, including high
quality voice text and video communication to help deaf Texans to
communicate in American Sign Language with 911 emergency call centers,
and a larger role for Health and Human Services in helping Texans with
disabilities prepare for disasters.
GCPD strongly endorses our state’s investment in the establishment and
funding of a support service provider (SSP) program to assist Texans who
are deafblind who have significant challenges and lack any public program to
assist them in accessing their community. The Helen Keller National Center
has identified an estimated 2,500 Texans who are deafblind. Deafblindness
is a disability in which a person not only has deafness, with their hearing
impaired severely enough so that most speech cannot be understood with
amplification, but who also has legal blindness. Significant and unique
adaptations are often required for individuals who are deafblind to maintain
their independence. The use of a SSP is critical to help Texans who are
deafblind lead more independent lives. SSPs are specially trained
professionals who enable people who are deafblind and who communicate
with American Sign Language to access their environments and make
informed decisions. They can also provide individuals who are deafblind with
visual and environmental information and communication accessibility.
Common tasks performed by an SSP include helping a person who is
deafblind go shopping at the grocery store, read their mail or help them
participate in a public meeting. GCPD published A Report on Support Service
Providers (SSPs) that proposes the establishment of a state SSP program to
meet the critical needs of Texans who are deafblind.
9GCPD strives to identify and support the greatest unmet needs of Texans
with disabilities that are often overlooked due to the low incidents rates of a
specific disability population. In doing so, we encourage the State of Texas
to invest in programs that will make the greatest impact in improving the
lives of Texans with disabilities.
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Lucey
Executive Director
10Summary Policy Recommendations for 2020-2021
Biennium
The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) offers
the following recommendations for the 2020-2021 biennium and the Texas
86th Legislature.
ACCESS
1. Designate the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities with lead
coordination responsibility among state agencies for the annual distribution
of service animal education materials to public facilities and businesses
operating within the State of Texas.
2. Clarify the difference in state law between the terms service animal and
assistance animal in the HRC Sec. 121.002. Remove “approved” from the
term “approved trainer” in the HRC Sec. 121.003(i) as the U.S.
Department of Justice has confirmed that individuals may train their own
service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)1 and no
state agency is designated to approve service animal training.
3. Ensure effective training of law enforcement regarding service or
assistance animals and legitimacy.
4. Increase the penalty of fraudulent representation of service or assistance
animals and include additional penalty options such as community service
and taking a court-ordered disability public awareness class.
5. Designate a state agency to work in collaboration to create public
awareness training/classes (i.e., Texas Workforce Commission-Vocational
Rehabilitation Services, Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities)
and support a robust public education campaign regarding service and
assistance animals.
6. Ensure all necessary parts of the voting process from beginning to end are
accessible to voters with disabilities, including the absentee and early
voting process.
COMMUNICATIONS
1. Establish a support service provider (SSP) program that includes training
for SSPs so that services are provided in a standard and consistent
manner.
2. Establish a pay rate for SSP services paid for by the state with a graded
scale of wages similar to that of the Interpreter I, II and III career path.
113. Establish a voucher program to pay for SSP services.
4. Establish the funding source for the SSP program, noting any inherent
obligations that may be associated with the source of funds (e.g. general
revenues, etc.).
5. Set an initial proposed budget of $5.808 million for the SSP program.
6. Determine the fee for service in rule to facilitate future changes.
7. Designate a state agency to administer the SSP program.
8. Provide oversight for compliance with Texas Government Code 2054,
Subchapter M, pertaining to accessibility requirements for electronic and
information resources at state agencies, as well as state colleges and
universities.
9. Authorize an appropriation for the Texas State Library’s Talking Book
Program to use for paid advertising so that the Program will be more
widely known and be of more benefit to people whose disabilities impede or
preclude the use of printed materials and physical books.
10. Restore the Texas Health and Human Services’ Office of Deaf and Hard
of Hearing Services (ODHHS) funding levels to Pre-Sunset, Pre-HHSC
merger, levels resulting in the restoration of contracted Resources
Specialists from 17 specialists to the pre-sunset level of 34 specialists.
EDUCATION
1. Support the establishment of a volunteer Accessible Digital Curriculum
and Learning Materials Advisory Committee to Texas Education Agency
consisting of accessibility and education subject matter experts.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
1. Reclassify a vacant full-time employee (FTE) position or create a new FTE
position within the Texas Division of Emergency Management to serve as
the disability coordinator to coordinate emergency management activities
for people with disabilities.
2. Encourage all state health and human service agencies providing services
to Texans with disabilities to discuss emergency preparedness and
evacuation planning.
3. Recommend the development of a Rapid Response Behavioral Health (BH)
Task Force composed of mental health professionals who are trained in
applied behavioral analysis and mental health treatment protocols,
including but not limited to developmental disabilities (such as the autism
spectrum), mental illness, and certain neurological disorders.
12a. Taskforce members will advise the state on emergency response and
recovery protocols for disaster survivors with behavioral health
disabilities and be available for deployment as needed to augment
local resources.
b. Members of the proposed Behavioral Health Task Force shall have a
prior background check and receive the necessary support for rapid
deployment during an emergency so they may meet the needs of
individuals with disabilities through rapid assessment and
recommendation/assignment to the most appropriate response and
recovery services based on identified behavioral health needs.
c. A registry of Behavioral Health Task Force members should be
maintained by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission
(HHSC), the state agency most capable in identifying and screening
candidates for this registry while coordinating its efforts with the Texas
Division of Emergency Management.
d. The roles of the Behavioral Health Task Force should include the
evaluation and recommendation of planning and training to ensure
behavioral health needs are addressed at local and state levels,
assessing and modifying shelter environments as needed, including
creating blue room sensory areas for individuals on the autism
spectrum with lower tolerance levels for the conditions within general
population shelters; providing crisis intervention (immediate and
short-term psychological care) during an emergency situation to
restore equilibrium to the biopsychosocial functioning of the individuals
with disabilities; and consulting and coordinating shelter management.
4. Support continued migration from an analog, voice-centric 911 generation
emergency communications systems to a 21st century Next Generation, IP-
based emergency services model that embraces a wide range of voice,
video, and data applications.
HEALTH
1. Establish requirements for certified medical interpreters that are similar
to those for certified court interpreters.
2. Increase the number of care coordinators for the Texas Early Detection
and Hearing Intervention (TEDHI) program.
3. Increase the number of slots available to be served by the Deaf Blind
Multiply Disabled (DBMD) waiver, 100 per year for the next four years.
134. Support increased community attendant care wages and benefits at a
level necessary to attract and retain personal care attendants covered by
state Medicaid waiver programs while facilitating consumer-directed care.
5. To ensure that the information captured on the STAR-Kids Screening
Assessment Instrument (SK-SAI) is both accurate and complete, the
beneficiary and his or her parents or guardians should be involved in
completing and reviewing the assessment instrument together with the
managed care organizations before it is submitted to Texas Medicaid
Healthcare Partnership.
6. HHSC should require Texas Medicaid Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) to
issue non-form letter denials that (1) provide specific reasons for the
denial, including reasons why the beneficiary does not need the level of
nursing care that would be provided in a nursing facility and why the
individual beneficiary no longer meets medical necessity for Medically
Dependent Children Program (MDCP); and (2) include the “specific
regulations that support, or the change in federal or state law, that
requires the action.” GCPD will monitor the modified process to assess
the overall impact on the level of denials and appeals for MDCP eligibility.
7. HHSC should issue ascertainable standards (i.e., written guidance) on the
meaning of the medical necessity criteria and train Texas Medicaid
Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) reviewers on these standards.
8. HHSC should instruct Texas Medicaid Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) to
follow the guidance on parents and guardians in assessing medical
necessity.
9. HHSC should release all information, subject to any restrictions under
state and federal law (such as HIPAA) related to how the STAR-Kids
Screening Assessment Instrument (SK-SAI) was tested for inter-rater
reliability and validity, and all statistics for the denial rate on renewals.
10. Support HHSC’s exceptional item request of $70.4 million to fund Early
Childhood Intervention (ECI) programs for the 2020-2021 biennium.
11. Approve the Sunset Advisory Commission’s past recommendation to
close the Austin State Supported Living Center (SSLC) within five
years (by August 31, 2024).
a). Establish a closure commission to evaluate the closure of the
Austin SSLC and decide if additional SSLCs should also be closed.
b). Establish individualized plans with residents, transitioning as many
as possible to the community, respecting their choice through person
centered planning.
c). In consultation with the General Land Office, reassess land values
for SSLC property, determine the highest and best use of the
14properties, up to and including the sale of the property. Proceeds from
any sale of property, and/or associated property tax revenues should
be dedicated to funding supports and services for Texans with
intellectual and developmental disabilities; investing more in those
currently on waivers and provide waivers for those on the interest list.
HOUSING
1. Promote adoption of accessible, affordable and transit-oriented housing in
Texas communities through sharing of information on local visitability
ordinances and best practices for the development of accessible single
family homes and duplexes.
2. Promote greater understanding of fair housing laws through education
and work with the Texas Workforce Commission’s Civil Rights Division
related to housing discrimination complaints.
3. GCPD will study strategies and “solutions that work” from other states or
local communities that have expanded community-based housing options
for people with disabilities and ensures long-term housing affordability.
RECREATION
1. GCPD shall promote through education and outreach existing grant
funding for the installation of “inclusive” playground equipment, whether
by means of new construction or through retrofit of an existing
playground, so that it is ADA accessible and usable by children with
disabilities.
TRANSPORTATION
1. Strengthen enforcement of accessible parking laws as follows:
a. Strengthen language in Texas Transportation Code, Title 7. Vehicles
and Traffic, Subtitle H. Parking, Towing, and Storage of Vehicles -
Chapter 681, Privileged Parking, Section 681.010 – Enforcement so
that it is unequivocal in its mandate for all individuals with
enforcement responsibilities to enforce accessible parking laws (i.e.,
change “may” to “shall” or “must”).
b. Bolster language in enforcement responsibilities as they apply to
accessible parking on private property or areas of public
accommodation.
15c. Reconsider judicial discretion to discourage frequent dismissal of
accessible parking citations.
d. Consider mandatory towing for vehicles illegally parked in accessible
parking spaces and have the violator bear the costs for towing in
addition to any fines incurred.
2. Control accessible parking placard fraud and abuse through tighter laws
and administrative remedies, such as:
a. coordinating the Department of Motor Vehicles, county tax assessor
collectors, and the Department of State Health Services cross-checking
of current disability placard holder lists against the state registry for
death records and cancelling any placard for an individual identified as
deceased and explore tracking of parking placards by the Department
of Motor Vehicles with a unique identifier (Texas driver license or state
identification number);
b. requiring the surrender of handicapped parking tags and placards at
the time of the estate tax deadline by the individual inheriting the
vehicle; and
c. enforcing accessible parking placard fraud and abuse by establishing a
task force for placard abuse enforcement or designating a state agency
to assign resources to enforce current laws.
3. Develop statewide public awareness on accessible parking and its impact
on Texans with disabilities through public awareness campaigns.
4. Change the language in the Transportation Code from “Handicapped
Parking” to “Accessible Parking” to align with the spirit of Texas
Government Code, Chapter 392, Person First Respectful Language
Initiative.
5. Improve accessibility for visitors and residents within the Capitol Complex
area by installing sheltered accessible drop-off stations within the Capitol
Complex perimeter.
6. Amend Transportation Code § 681.011 Offenses; Presumption to permit
alternative sentencing, which includes:
a. required education classes on disability awareness and accessible
parking with a reduced fine upon completion of said education; and
b. community service/restitution requirements at a nonprofit organization
that serves persons with disabilities or disabling diseases or any other
community restitution that may sensitize the violator to the needs and
obstacles faced by persons with disabilities.
7. Redefine the van accessible requirements in the Texas Accessibility
Standards (TAS) for medical facilities to increase the number of van
accessible spaces at these locations.
168. Update the TAS through legislation or rulemaking by:
a. painting the International Symbol of Accessibility in an accessible
parking space if the space is paved; and
b. painting the words “No Parking” in access aisles if the space is paved.
9. Include on accessible parking signs regulatory language that informs of:
a. fines and penalties (e.g. $550–$1,100 fine); and
b. consequences of illegal parking in accessible parking spaces (Violators
will be towed).
10. Consider expanded statutory authority in Human Resources Code, Title
7, Chapter 115.009 to grant additional authority to GCPD to:
a. provide education, training and assistance to law enforcement
agencies on accessible parking enforcement; and
b. work with other state agencies to provide public education and
awareness on accessible parking issues and compliance with
accessible parking laws.
11. Implement periodic audits by the Texas State Auditor’s Office of the
disabled parking placard program to determine if statutory changes by
the Legislature or changes in administration by the DMV may be
needed that will allow for better detection and deterrence of the
misuse of disabled placards and plates. Such audits will provide an
impartial assessment of the effectiveness of program processes and
procedures in place as well as an analysis of program revenues derived
from parking meter and/or parking lot revenues (either lost or
collected) that can impact the budgets of those jurisdictions sampled
during the audit (please refer to recent audit reports from
Massachusetts, California, Seattle, and San Francisco).
12. Recommend policy or legislation to have the Texas Department of
Motor Vehicles and the Texas Department of Public Safety include
“communication impediment with a peace officer” data for those
individuals who wish to voluntarily disclose a disability within the
TLETS data system. When including such voluntarily disclosed
disability data, designated agencies shall ensure that (1) all law
enforcement officers are trained on this data and its intended use
following TLETS implementation and (2) all disability-related
information associated with the information stored in the TLETS data
system shall remain confidential and storage and use of such data
shall adhere to medical confidentiality laws as applicable.
17VETERANS
1. GCPD will monitor legislation that affects veterans with disabilities,
publish information on any changes to such laws, policies or state
programs on GCPD’s key laws webpage, and share relevant information
with stakeholders.
WORKFORCE
1. Ensure that at the point an individual with a disability is moved from a
sheltered workshop environment to integrated community-based
employment, the integrated employment will be appropriately funded to
provide the necessary long-term support, to include job coaching, to
safeguard and allow for a successful integrated community employment
outcome.
2. Implement recommended best practices to strengthen disability-related
accessibility and employment practices that can lead to increased hiring
and retention of employees with disabilities as follows:
a. State agencies should actively recruit qualified job applicants with
disabilities.
b. State agencies should partner with Texas Workforce Commission’s
Vocational Rehabilitation program if job retention services are needed.
c. State agencies should have a written reasonable accommodation policy
and procedure that includes the interactive process.
d. State agencies should pay for employee job accommodations from a
centralized agency job accommodation fund for their employees.
e. All State agencies should designate a Title II ADA Coordinator and
comply with notice requirements.
f. State agencies should ensure they have a process in place for handling
general disability-related complaints and disability discrimination
complaints.
g. Develop and share common training resources on disability awareness,
etiquette and effective communications in state government.
18Description of the Committee’s Ten Policy Issue Areas
The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD) structures its
work into ten broad issue areas: access, communication, education,
emergency management, health, housing, recreation, transportation,
veterans, and workforce. A description for each issue area is provided where
GCPD works to help citizens across the state access the programs and
services they need or seek solutions for those problems that are identified.
Access
State and federal laws strive to guarantee that people with disabilities can
access the same locations and services as the general population. GCPD
monitors issues related to physical accessibility of facilities as well as
programmatic accessibility of those entities that fall under Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), covering state and local governments,
as well as entities covered under Title III of the ADA, which applies to
commercial facilities and business enterprises known as public
accommodations. GCPD also looks at important sub-issues in this area, such
as accessible voting, accessible parking and service animals. Key state and
federal agencies that GCPD partners with include the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Communications
Communication brings people together. Enabling easier and more efficient
communications has benefits in the workplace, social settings, and everyday
life. In Texas, it is estimated that 357,574 people or 2.3 percent of the adult
population have some form of hearing difficulty.2 Add to this the number of
children (ages infant–19) with hearing loss (1.4 per 1,000 babies screened;
5 per 1,000 children ages 3–17 years on parent-reported hearing loss; and
14.9 percent of children ages 6–19 years based on cross-sectional survey,
in-person interview and audiometric testing), and the population of Texans
with some form of hearing impairment becomes significant.
Effective communication must be provided, as necessary, to people with
disabilities. This may occur when a person with a disability is applying for a
job, attending a public meeting, speaking with his or her doctor or receiving
an emergency alert. For these reasons and more, accessible communication
and the assistive technologies and services that make such communication
possible are of vital importance and impact all of GCPD’s issue areas.
Communication areas that GCPD looks at include, but are not limited to,
accessibility of websites, e-learning tools, emergency notifications and
monitoring of new and emerging assistive technology devices. GCPD is also
dedicated to promoting “People First language” which emphasizes the dignity
of each person by putting the person before the disability in descriptive
19language. Key state and federal agencies that GCPD partners with are the
Texas Department of Information Resources, the Federal Communications
Commission and the U.S. Access Board.
Education
Students with disabilities can face educational challenges from the moment
they begin preschool through the day they sit for a professional licensing
examination. GCPD supports inclusion and accommodation of people with
disabilities at all ages and levels of the educational process. GCPD’s work in
this area covers services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), including the special education process as
administered by the Texas Education Agency; anti-discrimination under
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and accessible educational
technologies. The key state and federal agencies that GCPD partners with
are the Texas Education Agency and the U.S. Department of Education.
Emergency Management
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), since 1953,
Texas has experienced more presidentially declared disasters than any other
state.3 Hazards faced by Texans over the years have ranged from severe
rains and catastrophic flooding from hurricanes and tornadoes, to icy winter
storms and deadly freezes, to extreme droughts and devastating wildfires.
GCPD covers all aspects of emergency management for Texans with
disabilities, including planning for natural, man-made and public health-
related disasters. GCPD plays an instrumental role in the Texas Disability Task
Force on Emergency Management, a functional needs and support services
advisory committee at the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).
This interdisciplinary committee of experts continually updates comprehensive
guidance on meeting the needs of the whole community, including citizens
with functional and access needs, during all phases of an emergency. The key
state and federal agencies that GCPD partners with are TDEM, the Texas
Department of Public Safety, the Texas Health and Human Services
Commission (HHSC), the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS),
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
Health
GCPD is dedicated to promoting health and wellness among Texans with
disabilities, including those who face barriers to quality healthcare, whether
attitudinal, communication, physical, policy, programmatic, social, financial,
or transportation barriers. According to the United Cerebral Palsy’s 2016
Case for Inclusion annual report, which tracks state community living
standards for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,
Texas ranked Nos. 50/51 (including Washington DC) in overall rankings for
202015 and 2016.4 With a growth rate of a quarter million people each year
through domestic migrations and immigration5 and the aging of the Baby
Boomers, so that 5.9 million or 19.4 percent of the state’s total population
will be over 64 years of age in 20306, the demand for health care services in
Texas will only increase. GCPD provides analysis and guidance on access to
the health care system, including health insurance, public benefit programs
such as Medicaid and Medicare, and physical accessibility to medical facilities
and on-site medical equipment. GCPD studies and proposes strategies
addressing mental health issues of individuals with psychiatric disabilities
and provides resources and information in this area. GCPD favors solutions
that allow Texans to age-in-place gracefully in their own homes or with their
families so that more time can be spent independently in a familiar
environment with the support of family and the local community. The key
state and federal agencies that GCPD partners with are the Health and
Human Services Commission (HHSC), Department of State Health Services
(DSHS), the Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) Vocational Rehabilitation
Services, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services and the
Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
Housing
Historically, people with disabilities were segregated and isolated from
society as they were diverted to live in state-operated institutions or group
homes. With the de-institutionalization movement in the 1960s, the birth of
the disability rights movement in the 1970s, and shifts toward integration in
the 80s and 90s7, culminating with the Olmstead decision in 1999 finding
that unjustified institutionalization may constitute discrimination against
individuals with disabilities, requirements for accessible housing were
legislated for people with disabilities. Today, affordable, accessible housing
allows Texans with disabilities to live independently within their local
communities. GCPD promotes the availability of accessible housing, whether
these homes are within a multi-family housing complex or are single family
dwellings that lawfully comply with the Fair Housing Act and local visitability
ordinances. GCPD provides information on housing antidiscrimination laws,
home modifications, financial assistance for housing and tax credits and
exemptions. The key state and federal agencies that GCPD partners with are
the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, TWC’s Civil Rights
Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Recreation
Recreation provides a positive impact on the physical, mental, and social
health of all Texans. GCPD supports accessible recreational opportunities for
Texans with disabilities and provides information on physical access to
recreational facilities, including parks, sports arenas, as well as arts and
entertainment venues. GCPD applauds the involvement of people with
21disabilities in recreational pursuits ranging from individual and team sport
competitions to the performing and visual arts. The key state and federal
agencies GCPD partners with are the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
and the U.S. Access Board. Also, independent organizations contracted by
the U.S. Department of the Interior, such as the National Park Service and
the National Center on Accessibility, provide consultation on accessible
recreational opportunities.
Transportation
People with disabilities are more active in their communities than ever before
as entrepreneurs, small business owners, employees, job seekers, advocates,
volunteers and more. Thus, a reliable source of accessible transportation is
needed so they can maintain full productivity and participate in the wide
range of activities waiting for them every day. GCPD examines a variety of
transportation issues, from accessible parking and paratransit services
needed on a daily basis to business or recreational travel by airplane and
ship. Key state and federal agency partners are the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT), the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV),
Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS), the Federal Highway
Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit
Administration, the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the U.S.
Department of Transportation and US Department of Justice (DOJ). In 2016,
GCPD also partnered with DPS and the nonprofit organization Aspergers 101
on promoting the state’s “Driving with Autism” initiative in support of
transportation independence and public safety for drivers with autism.
Veterans
According to the latest data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics8,
Texas is home to over 1.74 million veterans. In general, about 20 percent of
veterans have a service-connected disability9. Therefore, many Texas
veterans living within our local communities have disabilities and require
disability-related services. GCPD looks at all aspects of veteran services,
including housing, medical care, benefits determination, employment, and
health. The 82nd Legislature created the Texas Coordinating Council for
Veterans Services to improve the coordination of services for Texas
veterans, service members and their families. The key state and federal
agencies that partner with GCPD are TWC Veterans Services, the Texas
Veterans Commission and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Workforce
As it was eloquently expressed in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance
and Bill of Rights Act of 200010: “Disability is a natural part of the human
experience that does not diminish the right of individuals with disabilities to
22live independently, exert control and choice over their own lives, and to fully
participate in and contribute to their communities through full integration
and inclusion in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational
mainstream of United States society.” Texans with disabilities represent a
valuable and skilled labor market that is sometimes overlooked by
employers. GCPD supports compliance with Title I of the ADA, which
prohibits discrimination against applicants for employment or employees
with disabilities by covered entities. GCPD also supports innovative
approaches to integrating people with disabilities into the workforce by
reasonable accommodations, assistive technologies and trainings on best
practices for both employers and employees. The key state and federal
agencies that partner with the Committee are the Texas Workforce
Commission (TWC), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
and the U.S. Department of Labor, particularly the Office of Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP).
23Goals, Purposes, Challenges and Policy Recommendations
for Policy Issue Areas:
Access
Communications
Education
Emergency Management
Health
Housing
Recreation
Transportation
Veterans
Workforce
24Access
GOAL
Enhance participation of people with disabilities in Texas life through
increased access.
PURPOSE
Federal and state laws contain standards for designing, building and
maintaining structures and facilities in a manner that maximizes accessibility
for people with disabilities. Just as local building codes contain minimum
acceptable levels of requirements for safety and public health, the Americans
with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines and the Texas Accessibility
Standards contain minimum acceptable levels for architectural and facility
access requirements for people with disabilities.
CHALLENGES
Individuals with disabilities still face important barriers to access. There
remains a continuing need for increased awareness of architectural or
physical accessibility requirements. It is easy to assume that older facilities
and accessible elements may be exempt from accessibility requirements
because they are “grandfathered in.” However, this is not necessarily the
case. For example, under Title III of the ADA, existing facilities are
considered to be discriminating against individuals with disabilities when
such facilities fail to remove architectural barriers when it is “readily
achievable” to do so.11
Limited resources for enforcement of accessibility compliance are also an
issue. Many times compliance concerns are identified by a complaint. When a
private citizen files a complaint against a facility through the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulation or the U.S. Department of Justice,
the system may be slow and inefficient as staff for these entities are spread
thin and may be unable to conduct timely or full-fledged investigations of
complaints.
25POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Service Animal Issues and Proposed Solutions
The public is accustomed to routinely encountering service animals in
various public places. However, state and federal laws and regulations
regarding service animals and assistance animals are often misunderstood
by businesses and members of the public. For example, the terms service
animal, assistance animal, emotional support animal and comfort animal are
often used interchangeably. Confusion may result from the context and
setting of a service animal encounter and raise questions as to which laws
apply to that particular encounter. GCPD regularly receives questions from
businesses and individuals concerning service animals, such as how to
distinguish between a service animal, an assistance animal, and a pet,
whether an individual may bring an emotional support animal into a
restaurant, and when it is proper for a business to eject a service animal.
Certification and licensing for service animals are not required by law and
only two questions can be asked of the service dog owner. However, when a
disability is not obvious, the person with a disability may be challenged with
inappropriate questions and even be asked to leave an establishment.
Furthermore, there are concerns of public skepticism toward service animals
more generally due to the ease with which an individual can purchase on the
Internet dog vests and other accessories identifying an animal as a service
animal. “Service dog vests” is a top-searched term on Google. Websites,
including eBay and Amazon, offer for sale certificates, badges, ID cards,
vests, leashes, collars, dog tags and other accessories that can be used to
indicate any given dog is a “service dog,” and “emotional support dog,” or a
“seizure alert dog” with absolutely no proof of an animal’s training or
abilities. There are also online “registries” that will certify a pet dog as a
“service dog” or “therapy dog” or “emotional support animal.” When these
instances of fraud occur, they make it more difficult for someone with a
genuine need for a service animal who is accompanied by a trained service
animal to be acknowledged as using a legitimate and lawful accommodation
or policy modification within a public setting. There are about 55 million
people with disabilities in the U.S., but only 20,000 service dogs are in use.
Concern is rising among service animal handlers about the ease with which
people can claim any dog is a service dog.
To help address a lack of public awareness about the rights of individuals
with service animals and applicable laws the Texas Legislature enacted
House Bill 489 (83rd Regular Session). This bill established a requirement in
Human Resources Code 121.008(b) to provide for mailings of educational
materials on service animals once a year to public facilities and businesses.
To ensure this mandate is fulfilled, responsibility was assigned to a
26cooperative effort between “state agencies responsible for the rehabilitation
of persons with disabilities”12 and “[t]he comptroller, the secretary of state,
and other state agencies that regularly mail forms or information to
significant numbers of public facilities and businesses operating within the
state.” Questions arose during the 85th Legislative Session about service and
assistance animals and the use or misuse of those animals. A clearer
definition of these types of animals in Texas statute particularly as it relates
to housing will help better address these questions. In the housing context,
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and various
courts have affirmed that housing providers must, as a reasonable
accommodation, modify or make exceptions to a “no pets” policy for persons
with disabilities who require service or assistance animals.13 HUD has stated
that an assistance animal is “an animal that works, provides assistance, or
performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides
emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects
of a person’s disability.”14 An animal that does not qualify as a service
animal under the ADA may still qualify as an assistance animal under the
Fair Housing Act (FHA).15 The Fair Housing Act does not place a limitation on
what type of animal can be an emotional support animal.
Texas Human Resources Code, Chapter 121 creates confusion by using the
terms “service animal” and “assistance animal” interchangeably but limits
the animal to a canine as follows: Section 121.002(1) “’Assistance animal’
and ‘service animal’ mean a canine that is specifically trained or equipped to
help a person with a disability.…” A clarification of current statute may
reduce the number of questions on this issue.
Recommendation 1.1: Designate the Governor’s Committee on People
with Disabilities with lead coordination responsibility among state agencies
for the annual distribution of service animal education materials to public
facilities and businesses operating within the State of Texas.
Recommendation 1.2: Clarify the difference in state law between the terms
service animal and assistance animal in the HRC Sec. 121.002. Remove
“approved” from the term “approved trainer” in the HRC Sec. 121.003(i) as
the U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that individuals may train their
own service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)16 and no
state agency is designated to approve service animal training.
Recommendation 1.3: Ensure effective training of law enforcement
regarding service or assistance animals and legitimacy.
27Recommendation 1.4: Increase the penalty of fraudulent representation of
service or assistance animals and include additional penalty options such as
community service and taking a court-ordered disability public awareness
class.
Recommendation 1.5: Designate a state agency to work in collaboration to
create public awareness training/classes (i.e., Texas Workforce Commission-
Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Governor’s Committee on People with
Disabilities) and support a robust public education campaign regarding
service and assistance animals.
Accessible Voting
As in many areas of life, the use of technology in voting is increasingly more
common. Compliance with accessibility standards in voting machine
technologies has resulted in a secret ballot for voters with disabilities who
had previously not enjoyed this valued right. Stakeholders from local
jurisdictions describe barriers to independently casting a secret ballot using
an inaccessible paper absentee ballot form. The market place of elections
systems has responded to the need for accessible absentee ballot and
provided solutions to address the need for accessibility at all phases of the
elections process. Additionally, in a Report to the 85th Legislature on Section
105.004 of the Texas Election Code Relating to a Program Allowing Certain
Military Voters on Active Duty Overseas to Cast a Ballot Electronically the
Secretary of State’s Elections Division demonstrated in a pilot program that
it is possible to allow voters to cast an absentee independent secret ballot in
a secure manner using an information technology solution. These same
solutions that benefit overseas members of the military may also benefit
many Texas voters with disabilities who have a need to vote absentee. As
technology expands into other voting-related practices, the Texas Election
Code should be updated to require that all aspects of voting - voter
registration, early voting, absentee voting and Election Day voting - be
secure and accessible to people with disabilities.
Current Texas statute at ELEC § 61.01217 requires each polling place in a
political subdivision to have at least one voting station that meets the
requirements for accessibility, unless the political subdivision qualifies for
one of the carve outs set out in § 61.013. Although § 61.01318 provides a
process to request a reasonable accommodation with the early voting clerk
of a county or political subdivision at least 21 days in advance of an election,
the statute could be strengthened by narrowing such carve outs to promote
the ability of people with disabilities to vote independently and without
assistance on the day of election or during early voting periods. Only a
28change in statute that strengthens obligations of political subdivisions to
fulfill their responsibilities for accessibility at all stages of the election
process will ensure full independence for people with disabilities who choose
to exercise their right to vote.
Recommendation 1.6: Ensure all necessary parts of the voting process
from beginning to end are accessible to voters with disabilities, including the
absentee and early voting process.
Communications
GOAL
Increase communication access and improve public awareness about
people with disabilities.
PURPOSE
The U.S. Department of Justice has indicated that the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local governments to seek to
effectively communicate with people with disabilities, meaning that “whatever
is written or spoken must be as clear and understandable to people with
disabilities as it is for people who do not have disabilities.”19 For people who
have disabilities that affect hearing, seeing, speaking, reading, writing or
understanding, this may require different ways of communicating with them
so they have equal access to the workplace, public accommodations, goods
and services, and facilities.
CHALLENGES
Providing effective communications with people with differing impairments
and limitations can present challenges as the method for communication
must be formatted to meet the particular needs of the individual. Ensuring
that these differences in communication needs do not hinder, but rather
enrich, two-way communication is the key to creating a society accessible
for all of its members. Increasingly, information and communication
technologies are playing a vital role in mediating these communication
needs. It is critical that advances in technology enhance access through
consideration of unique disability needs rather than function as yet another
barrier to people with disabilities.
29POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Support Service Providers
Several deaf advocacy groups approached GCPD to express their concerns
on not being able to independently access the community due to a lack of
support services for Texans who are deafblind. In response to concerns
raised by these constituents, GCPD researched and prepared a report on the
status of support service providers (SSPs) in Texas. Issues on SSP services
for the deafblind community can crossover between communication and
health. In this report, SSP services are addressed as a communication
issue. After an extensive review on this profession in Texas and across the
country, GCPD prepared seven recommendations for establishing a program
that funds SSP services in Texas. The full Support Service Provider report20
and discussion on each recommendation can be found on GCPD’s website.
However, policy recommendations were extracted from the SSP report and
are provided as follows:
Recommendation 2.1: Establish a support service provider (SSP) program
that includes training for SSPs so that services are provided in a standard
and consistent manner.
Recommendation 2.2: Establish a pay rate for support service provider
(SSP) services paid for by the state with a graded scale of wages similar to
that of the Interpreter I, II and III career path.
Recommendation 2.3: Establish a voucher program to pay for support
service provider (SSP) services.
Recommendation 2.4: Establish the funding source for the support service
provider (SSP) program, noting any inherent obligations that may be
associated with the source of funds (e.g. general revenues, etc.).
Recommendation 2.5: Set an initial proposed budget of $5.808 million for
the support service provider (SSP) program.
Recommendation 2.6: Determine the fee for service in rule to facilitate
future changes.
Recommendation 2.7: Designate a state agency to administer the support
service provider (SSP) program.
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